A quick review of the Snugpak Antartica RE. I didn’t feel it got tested at -17, suffice to say that I didn’t believe it got that cold until I was shown proof. I could not have been more comfortable in it. Very impressed, though it does take up 70% of a pannier.

The Helinox Chair One and Table One. Witheringly expensive kit, though exceptionally comfortable, lightweight, and a great solution for motorbike travel. You really do need some form of chair for these events, though the table is arguably less useful as it can’t be used to cook on. If the cost isn’t a problem I’d definitely recommend them. No doubt they will start to be copied for less, but I’m happy to pay for good design, and I feel like they will last a long time too. Well done to Helinox for making such a lightweight and quality product and innovating in an already crowded marketplace.

We left the campsite at noon on Sunday after three days camping. Heading back down the hill was still icy, but nowhere near as difficult as when we arrived on Thursday. It was a beautiful clear day and the trip through the forests and fjords made me wonder why I choose to live in London.

There were plenty of Danes returning home on Sunday. The alternative return trip is Gothenburg to Kiel, which would really make more sense for me if I didn’t have friends in Denmark.

I took it easy to port in Oslo in the hope that it would make taking out the studs easier. This is where the concept of the Bestgrip studs is questionable to me. I’d say only about 30% of the studs from the rear came out easily, the rest were too worn for the tool to purchase on. It was a slow and tedious process removing these with a pair of pliers. Given they only travelled, at best, 200km, I can’t really recommend them for anything other than day trip / emergency use as they looked pretty finished (bestgrip 1200). I have no experience of proper studs either, they may be just as fast wearing so don’t take this as a positive to another solution if you are doing some internet research before a big trip. Picture is the last one coming out!

The ferry back to Denmark got stuck for a few hours due to rough seas, and arrived at 12:00 instead of 07:00. With my next ferry scheduld to leave Rotterdam 1000km away at 21:00 it was clear I would be delayed a day. Instead of asking Mike to wait with, he took his bike back to Germany that afternoon in his van. I stayed overnight with Hot Wheels MCC in southern Denmark before an early escape next day, within striking distance of Rottterdam 800km away through the rain, wind, and snow.